Members urge action on West Coast ports
February 5, 2015
Eighty-four Congressmen sent a letter to the leadership of the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union urging a quick resolution to the current contract negotiations at the West Coast ports.
Congressmen Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Dave Reichert (R-WA) who organized the letter said, “As the negotiations continue our farmers, businesses and manufacturers are left with lost sales, increased costs and concerns about the future. They depend on the efficient movement of goods and access to international markets, both of which have been impacted by the negotiations. Trade, both imports and exports, is critical to our communities and our national economy, and the longer these negotiations last the more the results are felt across the country.”
Also, 93 agriculture and exporting organizations sent a letter urging a quick resolution to the negotiations. It is estimated that the meat and poultry industries are losing export sales and paying unanticipated port storage charges in excess of $40 million a week.
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